Muzammil, Aqeel make finals at Subh-e-Nau tennis

ISLAMABAD: Promising Muzammil Murtaza overpowered Aman Atique in the U-18 semi-final of the Subh-e-Nau clay court tennis championship here at the PTF complex on Friday.

In a well-contested three-set match, Aman won the opening set 6-4 without any significant resistance from Muzammil.

Muzammil, however, made a resounding comeback in the second set comfortably winning it 6-1. He continued the impressive show to claim the decisive set 6-4 and with it the match.

In the final, Muzammil will faces Nofil Kaleem who defeated Barkatullah in their nail-biting semi-final.

After Nofil easily won the first set 6-4, Barkatullah made a fine return to take the next set 6-2.

In the third and decisive set, both players exhibited quality tennis featuring powerful strokes that resulted in long rallies. Nofil ultimately prevailed as he grabbed the set 7-6(1) to book a place in the final.

Meanwhile, Davis Cupper Aqeel Khan set his sights on yet another title as he reached the men’s singles final. The longest-serving tennis player won his semi-final in style against upset-master Arham Atique.

Arham could not win a single game against his much more experienced and established opponent, and lost the battle 6-0, 6-0 without offering any notable resistance.

In Saturday’s final, Aqeel takes on Mohammad Abid who overwhelmed Shehzad Khan 7-5, 7-5 in the other last-four match.

Meanwhile, Sara Mansoor reached the women’s singles final after defeating Meheq Khokar 6-0, 6-4 while the other semi-final between Ushna Suhail and Sarah Mahboob was stopped due to bad light. The match had not resumed till the filing of this report.

On Saturday, Aqeel Khan and Heera Ashiq face Yasir Khan and Shehzad Khan in the men’s doubles final.

Results:

Men’s singles:

Semi-finals: Aqeel Khan bt Arham Atiq 6-0, 6-0; Mohammad Abid bt Shehzad Khan 7-5, 7-5.

Boys U-18:

Semi-finals: Muzammil Murtaza bt Aman Atique 4-6, 6-1, 6-4; Syed Nofil Kaleem bt Barkatullah 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(1).

Men’s doubles:

Semi-finals: Aqeel Khan/Heera Ashiq bt Mohammad Abdid/Usman Rafique, 7-6(1), 6-3; Yasir Khan/Shehzad Khan bt M. Mudassar/M. Muzammil 6-2, 6-2.

Boys U-14:

Semi-finals:Aquib Umar bt Sami Zeb 6-2, 6-4; Shoaib Khan bt Hamza bin Rehan 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.

Women’s singles:

Semi-finals: Sara Mansoor bt Meheq Khokar 6-0, 6-4; Sarah Mahboob vs Ushna Suhail (match stopped due to bad light).